The Royal Artifact
by dgLari
Summary: One-shot. The Firelord has the task to explain his past deeds to his son.


Hey there people! This is my first fanfic in English and my first for Avatar..so people tell me what you think..I've also published this little one-shot in DeviantART...if you want to...you can check out the drawing I made for it here...just remove spaces

http : / / newghostgirl . deviantart . com / art / The-Royal-Artifact-123487937

Especial thanks to my friend Lor...Secret Spy Guy for beta reading this 3

**Summary:** The Firelord has the task to explain his past deeds to his son.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender nor any of it's cool characters. Sadly.

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The Royal Artifact

The Firelord walked down the hall. It was a path he knew all too well; it led him to his former chambers. When he reached the door, he hesitated slightly. Yes, _he_ the proud ruler of the Fire Nation hesitated. How long had his son been sneaking out to see his grandfather anyway? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? It didn't matter though. His son knew. The Prince knew the truth ...well... part of it. And it was the Firelord's job to tell him the other part, the important one.

Very slowly, he opened the door, but the Prince was nowhere to be seen. A little noise came from inside the wardrobe across the room.

Sobbing... He was crying. The king walked over to the wardrobe and gently knocked the door.

"What do you want!" a rude, but raspy, voice snapped from inside.

The King of Fire didn't know what to say to such a question, so... he went with the truth.

"I just wanted to talk." He answered with a quiet, but firm voice.

A small gasp came from inside; the Prince was startled by who had answered. His father never came to his room. Never. He was always too busy to even pay attention to him 'a little infant was not important to the nation's priorities', just as grandfather had rudely declared days before. And it was true. Perhaps that was why, in a way, he preferred Grandfather... because, although he was mean sometimes, and his room was dark and scary, he was always available.

After a short time, the door opened, and the eight-year-old came out with dry tears on his pink cheeks. Almost immediately, he bowed to his father.

Zuko cursed mentally. Why did his son have to be so polite? Even for an eight-year-old _prince_; his manners were too impeccable most of the time. Almost every move was precise... It reminded him a little of Azula when she was young.

Without a word the Firelord went to the bed and sat down, gesturing for the prince to do the same. And the young one did.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the Prince's chambers.

Zuko had never liked the room. Every time he entered, horrible and painful memories invaded his mind. It was the room where Azula had come, saying Ozai was going to kill him. It was the room where he had lost his mother, the room where he had woken up after the Agni Kai with his father… and it was the room where he had to explain to his eight-year-old son why had he done what he did when he was sixteen.

He had already decided that his son deserved to know, and so he started  
"Yes." he said simply.

The boy looked at his father curiously, not quite understanding. Zuko however saw the confusion in his boy's eyes and continued.

"Yes." The king repeated. "The answer to your question is yes."

The prince's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't realized that his father had heard, or even paid attention to him at dinner.

With Mother and the servants trying to calm him down, he asked the question, or rather demanded to know "Is it true you betrayed grandfather?" Then again, it had to have been hard to ignore his screams. He was quite surprised his father was not berating him for being so disrespectful and impolite. Grandfather had told him that respect had to be learned at any cost, and so, taught the young prince to bow every time he came to visit the old man in his "room".

Zuko regarded the Prince for a moment, and continued.  
"I want you to know Lu, that what I did was for the good of the world, and for no other reason."

After a pause, the little boy replied indigently,

"That's…not what grandpa told me," he answered. "He said you did it because you were mad. Because he banished you. You wanted vengeance and the throne, so you allied with the enemy. You helped the Avatar to prevent our victory in the war."

"I _did_ help the Avatar, but not because of your grandfather," he made a short pause mentally cursing the former Firelord for telling such a lie to his son. He would be dealing with the man, later. "…I did it because... it was the right thing to do."  
Zuko was trying hard to contain his temper, although, by the way his son spoke, it looked as if he had been seeing his grandfather for a while now. It was just like the _old man_ to do that sort of thing to a child.

"But you were the Prince of the Fire Nation! How could you be the Prince of the Fire Nation and betray us!"  
The boy's tears were rolling down his cheeks again. He didn't understand why his dad do something so horrible. Did he even love grandfather? Did he even _care_?

Zuko knew his son had every right to be mad. He was just a child and didn't understand his reasons for doing what he did. The Firelord didn't expect him to do so, either. Instead, he took the Prince and sat him in his lap.

"What I want you to understand one day, is that the war was wrong. It wasn't our right to conquer others' land. Sometimes, Lu, the Prince has to make some difficult decisions. They may seem wrong sometimes but, if they are taken with the right motives, they are right."

"I don't think I understand…" Lu said quietly.

"Someday you will" Zuko smiled, pulling something from his tunic. "Until then, I want you to have this. It is a royal artifact, supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince."

The child's eyes widened and a smile formed on his face. He knew the object too well. Uncle Iroh had told him wonderful stories of how the last Fire Nation Avatar had worn it, and how had the man had given it to his father when he was young. The artifact was supposed to be worn by the crown Prince indeed, but it was only given to him when he celebrated his sixteenth birthday: The day when the Prince was considered worthy enough by the Firelord to be the rightful heir.  
But, Father was giving it to him _now_. Grandfather was wrong... he was completely wrong. Father trusted him.

Prince Lu Ten took the artifact in his hands and held it for a moment. Then he looked over to Firelord Zuko just in case it was all a bad joke. But the king never hesitated or took the artifact from him; he just kept smiling. The small boy couldn't resist anymore, and without a second thought, he embraced his father in a tight hug.

"I love you, Daddy." He whispered.

Zuko smiled and returned the hug. "And I love you."

Suddenly everything was quiet again. They remained that way for minutes, and for the first time, the former prince felt peace in his old room.

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Oh my it's over...tell me what you think ^^

**-NGG**


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